Hill Heat

Hearing page

Chairman: Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.)

Witness:

• Samantha Power, Administrator, United States Agency for International Development

Budget request for USAID: $2.3 billion

• $1.9 billion for operating expenses, including $183 million for the Global Development Partnership Initiative
• $0.3 billion for the USAID Capital Investment Fund

Hearing page

Witness:

• Marcia Fudge, Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development

FY 2024 Budget request of $73.3 billion.

STRATEGIC GOAL 4: ADVANCE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Advance sustainable communities by strengthening climate resilience and energy efficiency, promoting environmental justice, and recognizing housing’s role as essential to health

The $1.5 billion in following investments will help HUD achieve this goal:

• Public Housing Fund: $300 million for the installation of measures to increase energy efficiency, reduce water consumption, and promote climate resilience in public housing. In addition, the Budget includes $85 million to evaluate and reduce residential health hazards in public housing, including lead-based paint, and an increase of $25 million for public housing capital funds (under the Public Housing Fund), which will be critical to improving the quality of public housing.
• Native American Programs: $150 million awarded to eligible Indian Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) that rehabilitate and construct new housing units with the focus on increasing energy efficiency, improving water conservation, and furthering climate resilience in housing developments within Indian Country.
• Choice Neighborhoods: $185 million to help communities develop and implement locally-driven, comprehensive neighborhood plans to transform underserved neighborhoods. The program advances climate resilience and environmental justice by redeveloping and replacing distressed public and multifamily housing and neighborhood amenities with resilient and energy-efficient structures.
• Community Development Loan Guarantee (Section 108): $400 million of loan guarantees, a $100 million increase from 2023, so communities can leverage their Community Development Block Grant to tackle large-scale community and economic development projects. This proposal is in response to the increase in demand for this low-cost, flexible financing for physical and economic revitalization projects.
• Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes: $410 million to mitigate lead hazards in low-income, unassisted households, as well as identify and mitigate multiple health hazards.

Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2024 Federal Trade Commission budget.

Budget request: $590 million.

Witnesses:

• Lina M. Khan, Chair, Federal Trade Commission
• Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
• Alvaro Bedoya, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission

The FTC’s Green Marketing program focuses on advertising claims that tout the environmental benefits of products and services. Enforcement administers the program by developing the Commission’s Environmental Marketing Guides, litigating enforcement actions, and conducting consumer research and other studies to better understand the marketplace.

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on its “Green Guides,” which seek to prevent companies from making deceptive environmental claims, as it updates them for the first time in a decade.

Oversight hearing of the Securities and Exchange Commission. This hearing will examine the regulatory developments, rulemakings, and activities that the SEC has undertaken in the period since the last hearing on October 5, 2021.

This includes: On March 21, 2022, the SEC proposed a 500-page climate disclosure rule that would require publicly traded firms to disclose detailed emissions data and climate risk management strategies. Among other details, the rule would also require certain publicly traded firms to disclose direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions that emanate from their supply chains.

Hearing memorandum

Witness:

• Gary Gensler, Chair, Securities and Exchange Commission

Hearing on legislation to establish an independent NOAA. Former Republican NOAA administrators have been invited to testify.

Hearing charter

Witnesses:

• Dr. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, VADM USN Ret. NOAA Administrator, 2001-2008
• Dr. Tim Gallaudet, RDML USN Ret. Acting NOAA Administrator, 2017-2019
• Dr. Neil Jacobs, Acting NOAA Administrator, 2019-2021

Legislation:

• Discussion Draft: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Act of 2023

The NOAA Organic Act proposed by Chairman Lucas would establish NOAA as an independent agency within the executive branch, give it formal statutory authority, and authorize its mission. Additionally, the NOAA Organic Act ensures the National Weather Service will continue to operate within NOAA. It also consolidates NOAA’s work by refocusing on its core mission areas. It moves the Office of Commercial Space out of NOAA and elevates the office within the Department of Commerce, making it an individual office with an Undersecretary reporting directly to the Secretary of Commerce. Additionally, the bill directs a study from the National Academy of Public Administration on transferring part or all of NOAA’s work on endangered species and marine mammal protection to the Department of the Interior.

Hearing for members of Congress to testify on priorities and earmarks for their districts.

Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.)

On Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. PDT, at the World Ag Expo, 4500 S Laspina St # 214, Tulare, CA 93274, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a legislative field hearing on the following bills:

• H.R. 215 (Rep. Valadao) “Working to Advance Tangible and Effective Reforms for California Act” or the “WATER for California Act”.
• H.R. 872 (Rep. Calvert) “Federally Integrated Species Health Act” or the “FISH Act”.

Hearing memo

Invited witnesses:

• Debra Haaland, Secretary, Department of the Interior (or their designees from the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
• Gina Raimondo, Secretary, Department of Commerce (or their designee from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
• Charlton Bonham, Director, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Tony DeGroot, Farmer, DG Bar Ranches, Hanford, California
• Aaron Fukuda, General Manager, Tulare Irrigation District, Tulare, California
• Jason Phillips, Chief Executive Officer, Friant Water Authority, Lindsay, California
• Jeff Sutton, General Manager, Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority, Willows, California
• Chris White, Executive Director, San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, Los Banos, California
• Additional witnesses TBA

H.R. 215, sponsored by the entire House California Republican delegation, extends West-wide water storage provisions such as Section 4007 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act (Subtitle J of Public Law 114-322) through December 31, 2028. Some of the projects authorized under these provisions include: Shasta Dam and Reservoir Enlargement Project in California (additional 634,000 AF of storage), Sites Reservoir Storage Project in California (1.5 million AF of storage), Los Vaqueros Reservoir Phase 2 Expansion in California (additional 115,000 AF of storage), Cle Elum Pool Raise in Washington state (additional 14,600 AF of storage) and Anderson Ranch Dam Raise in Idaho (additional 29,000 AF of storage). The WIIN provision allows a non-governmental entity to request and be the non-federal partner for federally owned surface storage projects.

In addition, the bill would require the CVP and SWP to be operated consistent with the 2019 BiOps and Preferred Alternative, set during the Trump administration. The bill would allow for modification of CVP and SWP operations based on any agreement that is reached on a voluntary basis with CVP and SWP water contractors. It would also prohibit any water supply costs from being imposed on any entity due to agreements with other parties unless voluntarily agreed to.

In addition, the bill would require the federal government to provide the maximum amount of water practicable to CVP and SWP water contractors consistent with the 2019 BiOps. The bill includes safeguards for SWP water contractors. Specifically, if California reduces water supplies to SWP water contractors as a result of actions directed by H.R. 215, then any increase of water supplies received by CVP water contractors must be divided between the two projects. H.R. 215 would amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, P.L. 117-58) to make the Shasta Dam Raise eligible to receive water storage project funding in that law. IIJA included $1.15 billion for storage projects but made the Shasta Project ineligible. Lastly, it would direct the Secretary of the Interior to complete the fish, wildlife, and habitat restoration programs required under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA or P.L. 102-575) within 2 years of enactment of this Act.

H.R. 872, authored by Representative Calvert (R-CA), has six cosponsors: Reps. Jim Costa (DCA), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Mike Simpson (RID) and Michelle Steele (R-CA). H.R. 872 would consolidate the ESA functions of NOAA and the Department of the Interior (Interior) relating to the conservation of anadromous and catadromous fish, making Interior solely responsible for managing these species. This legislation will allow one wildlife management agency (USFWS) to evaluate impacts on species interacting in a shared ecosystem and determine a holistic management approach.

Mighty Earth and The Sunrise Project host a media webinar which will explain the importance of addressing the climate and human rights impacts across auto supply chains and the likely impact the industry could have on curbing emissions.

Many of the big manufacturers are heavily promoting their electric vehicles (EVs), but green motoring means more than just going electric. New analysis for the industry evaluates 18 of the world’s leading automakers on their efforts to eliminate emissions, environmental harm, and human rights violations from their supply chains. It found that although several big brands are sourcing fossil-free aluminum and steel, over half have shown no progress on steel, the biggest industrial metal climate culprit. Worryingly, two thirds have no commitment to Indigenous or First Nation rights in their supply chains for aluminum, steel and lithium for electric batteries.

This timely online media event will explain the importance of addressing the climate and human rights impacts across auto supply chains and the likely impact the industry could have in curbing emissions. The webinar is geared towards both specialist and non-specialist media; panelists will explain the broader impact the auto industry could have on driving down global emissions if all components in the auto supply chain were sourced and manufactured sustainably.

In the second half of the session, panelists will take questions from the media. All discussions will be on the record.

Panelists:

• Jim Wormington, Human Rights Watch
• Kate R. Finn, First Peoples Worldwide
• Glenn Hurowitz, Mighty Earth
• Chris Alford, The Sunrise Project
• Laura Murphy, Sheffield Hallam University

Hearing page

Witnesses:

• Dr. Tony Cheng, Director, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute; Professor, Forest & Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
• Troy Harris, Managing Director, Timberland and Innovative Wood Products, Jamestown, L.P., Atlanta, GA
• Jason Hartman, Kansas State Forester, Kansas Forest Service; Member, National Association of State Foresters Executive Committee, Manhattan, KS
• Jim Neiman, President, Neiman Enterprises, Hulett, WY
• Sally Rollins Palmer, External Affairs Advisor, Central Appalachians, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, TN

Hearing page

Witnesses:

• Arvind Ravikumar Ph.D., Research Associate Professor, Co-Director, Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab, The University of Texas at Austin
• Chelsea M. Rochman Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Head of Operations & Science Programming and Application Lead, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, St. George
• Hota GangaRao Ph.D., Ph.D, Wadsworth Professor and Director of Constructed Facilities Center, Wadsworth Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University